Love By Hap
by leeksandmisosoup
Summary: Hyuuga Neji sits alone in his room, thinking over ways to coerce Haruno Sakura into leaving her childhood sweetheart.


**Love By Hap**

Summary: Hyuuga Neji sits alone in his room thinking over ways to coerce Haruno Sakura into leaving her childhood sweetheart.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters. They belong to Kishimoto Masashi, et al.

* * *

Hyuuga Neji seated himself on his futon after carefully picking up a pad of paper and a black pen from his wooden desk in the corner. He didn't like blue pens. 

He wrote the title at the top and underlined it. He made the number one at the top of the paper, underneath the title, and, beside, a period. He set the pad down on his lap and pressed the end of the pen to his closed mouth. He tapped it against his bottom lip, trying hard to think of something to write.

He glanced at his paper pad after a few minutes of hardcore brainstorming.

_Ways to Make Haruno Sakura Break Up With Uchiha_

_1._

_That was it?_ he thought. He was sure he'd have more than that on his paper once he started the list.

Ding. A light bulb went over his head as he stared at the almost blank pad.

_Ways to Make Haruno Sakura Break Up With Uchiha_

_1. Tell her he's cheating on her with a civilian._

That was a good one. It was true, after all.

Neji sat, holding the black pen and the paper pad in his grasp, and thought about how that would go over.

* * *

"_Haruno, there's something of utmost importance that requires your attention," Neji said to Sakura. He watched as her childish smile went to surprised look._

"_What is it, Neji-san?" she asked, stepping a little closer to him. They were very close._

"_Uchiha, he… He's cheating on you. With a civilian. I know because I've seen the two of them." Neji inched a little closer to the girl just a year younger than him. His hand reached for her bicep._

"_W-What? Sasuke-kun's cheating on me? How-? Wh-? Why?" she moaned, shocked and unhappy. Tears welled up in her leaf green eyes that he loved so much._

_Neji grasped her arm in his hand. He pulled her to his chest. She stumbled against him and finally threw her arms around his middle. "It's all right. I have you, Haruno. You have me."_

_Sakura pulled her head back from his chest and looked up into his silver, pupil-less eyes. "Thank you, Neji-san. Thank you so much."_

_Neji lowered his head to hers and their mouths connected in a kiss that sent jolts down their bodies. Sakura reached up and tangled her hands in his chocolate brown hair. She pulled his head down to crush their lips together as she stood on her tiptoes. Neji wrapped his arms around her and brought her body flush with his. The two of them pulled apart._

_Sakura's eyes still held tears. "I… I think I'm in love with you, Neji-san…"_

"_Then call me Neji," Neji told her before sweeping in for another kiss from her perfect lips. "And I'll call you Sakura."_

* * *

Neji dispersed the image in his head by shaking it. Like something like that would ever occur if he told Haruno Sakura that the Uchiha was cheating on her. 

He almost crossed it off the list, but decided against it. He would use the process of elimination once he'd written out all the things he could say.

Ding. Another light bulb went off.

_Ways to Make Haruno Sakura Break Up With Uchiha_

_1. Tell her he's cheating on her with a civilian._

_2. Tell her that he's madly in love with her and only wants to spend eternity with her._

Neji pressed the pen to make a period at the end of the sentence. He brought the pen back up to his cheek and tapped it against the flesh there. Would this second idea work better than the first one would?

He scratched his back as he contemplated the events that would follow his telling her.

* * *

"_Ohayou gozaimasu, Haruno-san," Neji said as Sakura opened her front door._

"_Neji-san," she said, yawning and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, "what are you doing here so early in the morning?" She definitely wasn't a morning person._

"_It's only 8:00. I don't find that early at all, really," he answered. He was hoping to tell her, but dreaded her response._

"_Oh. So what are you doing here?" she asked._

"_I came to tell you something of large proportions that involves you," he responded. He brought himself closer to her by scaling a concrete step._

"_All right. Go on. Tell me what it is," the pink-haired girl said. She covered her mouth with her hand to hide the yawn that accompanied her instructions. _

"_Okay." Neji wrung his fingers as he stood in front of the eighteen-year-old. "Haruno-san, I came here to tell you… I'm completely in love with you."_

_Sakura stood still as stone upon hearing the news. All of a sudden, she jumped on him. If he wasn't ANBU, then he was certain she would have toppled him backwards. He caught her easily. She pressed her rosy lips to his own, her arms thrown around his neck and her legs thrown around his hips. Neji was holding her with his arms around her waist. Both of their eyes were closed as their kiss was never-ending. Eventually it did end, and Sakura pulled back to gaze into his silver eyes._

"_Oh, Neji, I love you, too!" she exclaimed before hurriedly crushing their lips together again._

* * *

Oh, hell, no. That would never happen. If anything, the headstrong medic-nin would give him a consolation and head off to her beloved Uchiha. 

It was so much trouble being in love. Wait. He sounded like Nara for a second. He would die before stooping to Nara Shikamaru's infamous " too troublesome" phrase.

Ding. Once again, a light bulb of immense brightness illuminated over the Hyuuga Branch member's head.

He quickly scribbled the idea down before he could forget it.

_Ways to Make Haruno Sakura Break Up With Uchiha_

_1. Tell her he's cheating on her with a civilian._

_2. Tell her he's madly in love with her and only wants to spend eternity with her._

_3. Tell her that she can't possibly be in love with the Uchiha because it was only a childhood crush years ago and nobody keeps a crush that long. Example: Lee (before) - Sakura. Lee (now) - Tenten._

There. That was a pretty decent argument he had going on. Giving an example to the tough as nails Jounin would go over well when he used Rock Lee. After all, she wasn't too fond of his teammate at the time he was infatuated with her. Look what happened to Lee – he got over it and was currently engaged with their female, old teammate: Tenten.

Neji leaned back and tried to picture the scene in his head.

* * *

"_Oh, Neji-san, Hinata-chan, it's nice to see you. How are you?" the eighteen-year-old said to the nineteen-year-old boy and the girl of the same age as her._

_They just randomly passed each other in the street. Sakura's hands were holding two plastic grocery bags filled with vegetables. Neji and Hinata had been off to the market as well, only they were in search of fish and meats. Hanabi, it turns out, was an amazing chef. She was planning on making the family a meal later that evening._

"_Sakura-chan, hi! We're great! How are you?" his cousin asked. It seemed that a certain loud blond was affecting his mousy cousin's personality. Her inner gossipmonger and chatterbox looked as if it was finally released. No, the loud blond wasn't Yamanaka Ino. It was Uzumaki. _

_Sakura smiled at the both of them. Hinata returned it and Neji just looked in the direction of the market, hands in his pockets. "I'm good. I'm having Sasuke-kun over for dinner, so I went to buy some vegetables from the market. I'd already bought the meat and everything else yesterday," she said with enthusiasm._

_Hinata clapped her hands together. "Oo! What are you making?"_

_Sakura gave a wicked grin and a wink. "Well, I was planning on making some yakitori, some dango for the appetizer, and I bought strawberry ice cream for dessert. I wasn't sure if I should make curry rice. I'm having second thoughts. Now, that I think about it… I don't really know what Sasuke-kun's favourite ice cream is. I don't even know if he likes sweets!" she exclaimed._

_Hinata giggled. "There can't be a man alive that doesn't like sweets," she said. "Except for maybe Neji-niisan, here."_

"_Hinata-sama, would you mind going to get the fish and chicken on your own? I just realized I had something important to tell Haruno," Neji said, finally paying attention to the two women in front of him._

"_Oh, sure, it's not a problem. Well, I guess I'll see you later, Sakura-chan," Hinata said. The raven-haired beauty jogged lightly towards the market. She turned and waved and said, "I'm sure your dinner will be a hit!"_

"_Thank you!" Sakura called back. She eventually turned her attention on the tall man standing not even two feet in front of her. When did he get so close?_

"_Haruno," Neji said._

"_Yes, Neji-san?" she asked, her voice slightly quavering._

"_I think it is in your best interest if I tell you, you should break up with Uchiha," he stated, voice firm._

"_Excuse me?" Sakura stammered. "Why would I want to go do something like that?"_

"_I firmly believe that you are not truly in love with him. You can't possibly be. Yamanaka Ino was once "in love" with Uchiha. She is not anymore. I trust in my judgement that you only pretend that you are in love with him, unbeknownst to you, because back when you were twelve and I was thirteen you thought you were in love with him. He is only a childhood sweetheart. You cannot keep up the charade for ever," Neji uttered._

"_Wait. Now hold on a sec–"_

"_Example," Neji said, cutting her off, "is Rock Lee, my former teammate. He was once in love with you, was he not when you were twelve? Now, is he still? The answer is no. No, he is in love with Tenten and plans on marrying her – if you don't know about their engagement. So, like your 'love' with Uchiha and Lee's with you, it is only an infatuation that you have. It's probably his good looks, his dark past, and his strength that really attract you to him – not love."_

_Neji finished his point, and then stared into Sakura's green eyes. They swirled with confusion, anger, and hurt. Her emotions were so easy to read. Subsequently, understanding and realization dawned on her. He could read it in her eyes._

"_Neji-san," she started, "I… I think you might be right about my love for Sasuke-kun." She looked down at the ground. She looked back up at him through her lashes. "And I think it's actually you that I am in love with." She gauged his reaction._

"_Haruno – Sakura – I love you, as well," Neji answered, his gaze burning into hers._

"_Oh, Neji…" she whispered as she took a step forward. Neji did, too. _

_They both met in the middle._

_Neji's head lowered and his mouth sought hers. They both closed their eyes when their lips met. Sakura dropped her grocery bags and placed her arms on his shoulders, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. Neji edged closer and grabbed her waist with his hands._

_They broke apart and stared at each other. Neji was pleased with the swollenness of her lips._

_Sakura reached down and picked up the grocery bags she'd previously dropped in her haste to kiss him. She linked one of her arms with his._

"_Come on, I'll make you dinner," she said with a wink._

* * *

No, no, no! None of these ideas would work! Here, the Hyuuga clan prodigy had been sitting for over a half hour and all he could come up with was three ways. What had he been doing all this time? Oh, fantasizing. 

Neji flopped back onto his futon. These ideas weren't going to get him anywhere.

A knock on his door sounded. It slid open and his cousin's head peeped in.

"Neji-niisan, it's almost time for dinner. I'd say about a little more than five minutes, ten at the most. Just an advance warning," Hanabi said before pulling her head back out.

"Thanks," Neji muttered, still holding the pad and pen.

Hanabi nodded – he could see it through the quarter of the opened door – and slid it shut. It hit the wood doorway with a little clunk.

Neji turned back to his more important case at the moment: adding more points to his list. After reviewing the list multiple times, he really couldn't think of anything else to write down. He was a prodigy for fuck's sake! He could surely do better than this.

Hanabi knocked on his door again. "Dinner!" she called.

Neji nodded, though she couldn't see as she'd already left. Five minutes went by fast. He placed his pad of paper and pen on his desk. He slid open his door after taking his hitai-ite and tying it around his bandaged forehead. He clacked it shut behind him.

During the family dinner, Hizashi had asked Hinata and Hanabi how their days had gone. They told him and he asked for explicit details. Of course, they complied. Neji paid their conversation no heed. He was too busy trying to come up with something more to add to his list.

"Neji, what did you do today?" his uncle asked.

It surprised him. When did his uncle want anything to do with him? Neji answered, "Not much, uncle."

"Really? Hinata said she saw you training. Is that not something?"

"Yes, uncle, it is," Neji replied. "But I did nothing today of vast significance."

"I see. Any plans for tomorrow?" Hizashi asked.

Questioned, Neji answered. "I'm not sure. I think I'll –"

He cut himself off as a thought flooded into his brain. The fourth way to get Sakura to break up with Uchiha needed his attention.

Hizashi looked at his nephew awkwardly. Neji usually never stopped mid-sentence. Hizashi had been trying to cozy up to his nephew, hoping the young prodigy wouldn't blame him too much for his father's death. He wanted to be on the Hyuuga prodigy's good side.

Neji looked at his uncle with sharp eyes. "May I be excused?"

Hizashi nodded.

Neji quickly stood up, not bothering to place his chopsticks nicely to one side. He exited the dining room without a word and without finishing his dinner. Hinata stared at his retreating back and then at his half-eaten dinner. Hanabi stole his shabu-shabu.

The branch member slid open his door with force. It clacked, wood against wood. Neji grabbed his pad and pen and rapidly jumped onto his futon. He scribbled his fourth point underneath the third.

_Ways to Make Haruno Sakura Break Up With Uchiha_

_1. Tell her he's cheating on her with a civilian._

_2. Tell her he's madly in love with her and only wants to spend eternity with her._

_3. Tell her that she can't possibly be in love with the Uchiha because it was only a childhood crush years ago and nobody keeps a crush that long. Example: Lee (before) - Sakura. Lee (now) - Tenten._

_4. Tell her all three at the same time._

Neji twirled the pen with his index and middle finger. Satisfied with the fourth way, he put the pen back in his desk's drawer and placed the pad back on the desk. He ripped off the top paper with the four points and the title and taped it above the desk.

Forgetting all about the dinner waiting him down the hall, Neji took off his hitai-ite and folded it neatly before placing it nicely on the desk. He fell back onto his futon, chocolate hair spread out across the stark white pillow under his head. He pulled his sheets over his still clothed body. He laid still, thoughts invading his head.

Would Sakura react to his telling her like he'd hoped? No, Haruno was too civilized and emotional to not cry for her long crush on Uchiha and then jump him. He could hope, couldn't he? He _is_ a closet romantic.

Neji slept peacefully, and awoke in the morning in the same position he'd fallen asleep: flat on his back. He didn't sleep any other way.

He stretched and yawned, checking the electronic alarm clock Tenten had bought him when both her and Lee had visited once while they were still Gennin and Chuunin teammates. It was 9:00. Odd, because he usually woke up much earlier than that.

The Hyuuga stood up. He was still wearing his clothes from yesterday. Remembering what he wanted to do that day, Neji hurriedly whipped the white t-shirt over his head and stripped himself of his black shorts and black boxers. He rushed over to his dresser and yanked one of the drawers out. He grabbed a pair of navy blue boxers. He pushed that one back in and yanked out another. He pulled out a brown shirt. He repeated the motion of pushing the drawer back in and yanking out another. In the last drawer, Neji grabbed another pair of black shorts.

He grabbed the white towel hanging in his room and wrapped it around his waist. He opened the door and headed to the washroom. Finding it empty, Neji locked the door, threw his clean clothes on the counter, and turned on the shower to a slightly warm temperature.

Once inside, he washed his body, taking time on his long hair. He shut the water off and stepped out of the shower, reaching for the towel he placed on the towel rack. He toweled himself dry and put on his clothes. He quickly toweled his hair until it was damp, not dripping wet.

He walked back to his room and hung up his towel. While he was in his room, he picked up the paper he'd written on earlier yesterday and pocketed it. He waltzed out the door of the famed Hyuuga compound.

He was on a search for one Haruno Sakura.

He walked around Konoha, hoping to spot the pink-haired kunoichi, with his hands in his pockets, fingering the piece of paper folded in one of them.

Neji searched the market, the boutique-lined street, near Ino's house, the training grounds, and the Hokage's tower. The results were nothing, nada, zip. Sakura wasn't anywhere.

Looking at the clock inside the Godaime's tower's lobby, he realized she'd still be asleep. If he knew anything from his cousin, it was that Haruno Sakura loved her sleep. She was definitely not a morning person.

So, keeping in mind the time (10:30), the prodigy went in search for a treat. He headed to the ice cream parlor, something he didn't usually do, and ordered chocolate – his favourite.

He walked with his waffle cone out towards the park. He found a nice bench under a large Douglas fir. Sitting on it, Neji began to finish his cone. He licked the slowly melting ice cream while he enjoyed the Douglas fir blocking the morning sunlight out of his eyes.

His silver orbs took in the scene in front of him. A family, civilians not ninja, was having a picnic out on the park's grassy grounds. The young daughter, about four, was being chased by an older boy of six, approximately. The two young parents were laughing and holding hands on the picnic blanket. The wife, not much older than him, turned and kissed her husband on the lips. She pulled back and they smiled at each other.

Neji's heart ached. He wanted so much to have something of that feeling with Sakura. He wanted to see their children play in the park. He wanted to have family outings with them. He wanted nothing more than the happiness and love that family was exerting.

He dimly heard eleven bell tolls as the clock in the village square turned 11:00. Blindly wishing that Sakura was awake at the moment, Neji ate the rest of his cone. He wiped his mouth with the pristine napkin handed to him from the ice cream parlor attendant. He tossed it in the trash can not far from his bench. He walked slowly down the gravel road that wound through the park, and entered the village square.

He wasn't sure where Sakura lived. He had a general idea, but wasn't positive. He was in love with her, not obsessed enough to stalk her. So he wandered down streets and alleys, looking for pink hair.

The branch member spotted some skipping. He rushed forward, intent on telling her the important points he'd written out the night before. He caught her as she turned down the street that led to the Uchiha compound.

"Haruno, wait for a second," he called.

She stopped her skipping, then turned her body to face his. Sakura watched as he stopped in front of her.

"Is there something you needed, Neji-san?" she asked, polite but sleep evident in her voice.

"I need to tell you something important," Neji said. His heart rate was racing.

"Can we do this while I walk, please? I plan on making it to Sasuke-kun's before 11:15. I promised him I wouldn't come before 11:30, but I want to surprise him," the pink-haired beauty told him, smiling. Her eyes glowed when she smiled, he noted.

Neji nodded and the two of them began to walk down the street. The Uchiha compound loomed ahead of them.

"So… Neji-san?" Sakura asked, turning her head to look at him.

Neji noticed that she always kept eye contact when she conversed with someone.

"Oh, yes," the Hyuuga said, looking directly into the Haruno's eyes, trying to keep as much contact between them no matter if he walked into a pole. Not that he would anyway, he was a Hyuuga. He fingered the paper that was nicely settled in the pocket of his black shorts. "There's actually three things I have to tell you."

"Go ahead," Sakura answered. She waved her hand at him.

Neji looked up at the Uchiha compound that was coming closer with every step. "First of all, I want to warn you. Please do not get angry with me if I tell you something you are unwilling to hear."

Sakura nodded and continued to walk. "Okay…"

He glanced ahead of them and noticed they were only a few feet from the main gate into the compound where the youngest of the last two remaining Uchiha lived.

"All right. The first thing I want to say is –"

Neji looked at Sakura's face, but she wasn't looking at him. She was staring through the bars of the gate at something beyond. Neji followed her gaze. His love was staring, with a shocked face, at the Uchiha who was conversing with a woman who had mouse-coloured hair. The woman was walking out of the front door and down the steps. Sasuke raised his voice slightly to tell her something.

"Hurry up; my girlfriend's going to be here any minute. Move your nice ass out of this compound." His tone was admonishing, but strangely playful. A tone he'd never used with Sakura.

Neji watched as the woman finally turned away from the strange beauty of the Uchiha and walked straight ahead. She suddenly stopped flat. Both Sakura and the woman were having a staring contest. Sakura tore her eyes away first to look at Sasuke's expression. The Uchiha froze against the doorway. His mouth opened in shock.

Sakura whipped around, tears clearly streaming down her face, and ran down the street, her white and baby pink sundress billowing behind her.

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted, not moving from his position.

Neji stared as she ran a few paces away before turning to the Uchiha and fixing him with a glare meant to shoot thousands of kunai. Then he spun around and chased the love of his life.

Hours later, Neji still couldn't find his elusive Haruno. He resigned to sitting on the park bench he had earlier in the day. A body sat on the opposite side of the bench. Looking up at the newcomer, Neji's heart jumped to find none other than Haruno Sakura. She was looking at her hands; they were balled into fists.

Neji moved towards her slowly, not wanting to spook her and have her running away. She turned her head and looked up at him. Her face was tear-streaked, but no tears ran anymore.

"Are… Are you okay?" Neji asked, his hand reaching towards her.

Sakura shook her head.

"I was going to tell you about Uchiha and…" he stopped before he could say anything else to upset her.

She shook her head again.

"Would you like me to notify you about what I was going to say?" the prodigy asked lightly.

Sakura nodded. Her pink hair, that she'd grown long again and that reached mid-back, moved from her head's motions, creating a ripple.

"First, I was going to tell you that I thought you should break up with Uchiha because there's no way someone could keep a crush for so long, since they were children."

He saw her open her mouth to object.

"I had an example, too," he said, cutting off the statement forming in her mouth. "It was Lee. I was going to tell you that Lee was very much in love with you when you were twelve and we were thirteen. Now, Lee is completely over you and is getting married to Tenten. I was going to tell you that childhood crushes don't last _that_ long."

Neji gauged her reaction. She said nothing, and only stared at her fists balled on her lap.

"Second, I was going to tell you that Uchiha was cheating on you with some civilian whose name I don't know and who is of little to no importance."

He saw tears begin to form in her eyes again. She quickly wiped them away with the back of her hands. No new tears appeared.

"And, third, I was going to tell you – I mean, I am telling you, that…" He looked up at her and scooted closer. She raised her head and gazed at him, his sudden move towards her the cause. He looked deep into her emerald depths. "I wanted to tell you that… I love you, Haruno Sakura. I have for awhile, now."

Before Neji could make another move, Sakura had started in shock and bolted off the bench. She pressed a hand to her chest. Neji made to get up from the sitting position he was in, but Sakura turned and ran down the gravel path.

"Damn it," Neji muttered, realizing that his little daydreams yesterday would have never happened in real life.

No happy ending for Hyuuga Neji, a branch member of the Hyuuga clan and its prodigy, and one of ANBU's youngest members.

* * *

It had been a year since Sakura learnt Sasuke was cheating on her and of Neji's love for her. It had been a surprising day. 

Now, Hyuuga Neji was having his twentieth birthday. He didn't want a birthday party, not at all, but when Hinata had mentioned to Naruto that it was the prodigy's birthday in two days, two days ago, the loquacious blond had told everyone and even insisted on a party.

Red, blue, green, and purple streamers were hanging from every corner of the household, even crisscrossing across the ceilings. Random coloured, latex balloons were randomly placed throughout the house. Everywhere Neji turned there were balloons and streamers and decorations. Naruto had even had Hinata make a banner that said "Happy 20th Birthday, Neji!" and they'd hung it over the doorway of the living room.

In the morning of his dreaded birthday party, Neji had thrown the covers back over his completely awake form. He'd been hoping that no one would notice he was awake and leave him to sneak out the window and away from the party dedicated solely to him.

Unfortunately, Hanabi had burst into his room, Hinata and Hizashi standing at the doorway, and forcefully removed him from his futon.

Neji looked at the clock ticking away the time in the Hyuuga household's living room. It was only two hours before his party would start. Naruto was already over, having dragged Shikamaru and the sand-nin Temari with him. The childish blond, not the mature and overconfident sand-nin, was attempting to help Hinata and Hanabi in the kitchen. Temari was in front of him putting random dishes on the table, and practically forcing Nara to help.

Time seemed to slow for Neji as he patiently waited for 2:00 to roll around. He heard many shouts in the kitchen from Hanabi, the Uzumaki complaining, and Hinata giggling.

"That's not sugar, baka! That's salt!" Hanabi's voice resonated from the kitchen.

"Na, Hanabi-chan… They both look the same!" The immature blond could be heard grumbling and complaining. Nothing new.

The Kazekage's sister pranced – if a woman such as her _could_ prance – into the room, holding a glass bowl in each hand. One was filled with chips and the other, watermelon cubes. After she'd placed them on the table beside three others, she twisted her upper body towards the kitchen.

"Shikamaru, get your ass out here with the sushi plate!" she yelled. "It can't possibly be _that_ troublesome!"

A slouched Nara entered, a plate of sushi in one hand, and made his way over to the busty blonde. He silently handed over the plate. Temari bent over and placed it beside the bowls. She shooed Shikamaru away with her hands, and he later came back with a bucket of wasabi and a spoon. Temari took off the air-tight lid and stuck her spoon in the bucket. She pulled out the spoon, a giant glob of the Japanese horse radish cradled in its semi-circle shape, and plopped the immense ball onto the sushi plate. Neji's eyes widened. Who was going to eat that much wasabi?

Competitive Temari looked up at him. "Do you mind if I have some?" she asked, pointing at the sushi with the spoon.

Neji shook his head. She could take as much as she wanted.

He watched as she handed the spoon back to Nara, and reached down to grab a sushi in between her two fingers. He watched her lather the roll of seaweed, rice, and vegetable in the green wasabi and pop it in her mouth. His mouth burned just watching the sand-nin chew the sushi coated in wasabi. Even Shikamaru's fave scrunched up.

She looked at the both of them as if they were the weird ones. "What?" she mumbled, food clearly getting in the way of her voice.

The two ANBU looked away.

Hinata entered at that time to break the awkward silence. "Neji-niisan, you better get ready. The guests should be here in 15 minutes."

"Yeah! We can't have the birthday boy not ready for his own party!" Naruto joined in.

The blond boy possessed by Kyuubi was almost all white. No doubt from the flour he'd been foolishly allowed to handle.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, edging closer to the boy to whisper in his ear, "I think you should go home, too, and clean up."

Naruto looked down at himself. He blushed sheepishly before heading towards the door. "I'll be back before you know it, Neji!" he yelled.

Hinata turned back to him. She gave him a look she'd learned from her younger sister. "Neji-niisan…"

"All right, I got it. I'll go get ready."

Neji padded down the hallway and entered his room. He ruffled around in his closet, making it sound like he was getting ready, before he slowly tiptoed to his open window. He already had one leg through the window when Hanabi walked in.

"And just where do you think you're going?" she asked, tapping her foot on the floor. She pulled him back in and shut the window behind him. "You can hunt down S-Rank shinobi for ANBU, but you can't even show up at your own party. Sad." She snapped her thin fingers. Temari shoved Shikamaru into the room. "Nara-san will stay here while you get ready. He's only here to ensure you show up." His cousin left the room.

Temari scowled at Shikamaru. "You better do this, or I'm never going to marry you!"

"Marrying you would be too troublesome," the Nara muttered.

Temari, pretending not to have heard his statement, flipped her hand at the two of them and shut the door. Nara wasted no time in turning to him.

"Look, neither of us wants to be here. Especially me. I won't look, so you'd better get dressed quickly."

Neji scowled as Nara turned his back to him. He rifled through his drawers to find something suitable to wear. He picked out some nice black dress pants and a long-sleeved white shirt. After watching the Nara's back to make sure he wouldn't look back, Neji exchanged clothes. He was all ready to go, and he brushed past Shikamaru to get to the door.

When Neji re-entered the living room with Shikamaru trailing behind, a few guests had already arrived. Kiba, for once sans Akamaru, Lee, Tenten, and Gai were sitting at the couch and conversing, their hands randomly grabbing the snacks in the bowls. The door bell rang, but neither of the four seemed to notice.

Hinata ran to get the door, coming back with a now-clean Naruto, Kakashi, Chouji, Ino, and Asuma. Asuma was holding Ino's hand.

"Happy birthday, Neji-san!" the exuberant Ino shouted the second she saw him. Asuma pulled out his cigarette and snubbed it out on the ashtray set on the table just for him. Chouji held a plate of dango and handed it to Hinata before smiling. Kakashi nodded to Neji – a silent greeting.

The door bell rang again. Neji quickly put his hand to the hitai-ite tied to his forehead. Hinata handed the plate of dango over to Naruto, who she specifically told to give to Hanabi, before racing to get the door again. Shino, Genma, and Kurenai came back with her. Shino nodded to him, much like Kakashi had done; Genma smirked at him, his senbon still wedged in his mouth; and Kurenai waved and added a "happy birthday" before going to help his cousins in the kitchen.

Now, instead of the door bell ringing, there was a knock which Naruto answered immediately. The Godaime burst into the living room.

"Happy 20th, Hyuuga Neji! Congrats! Any sake in here?" Naruto made sure to keep the sake far from her. "Okay, okay," she said, hands up in defense. "I'm only here to congratulate you, Hyuuga. I only came to pop in. Well, have a good time, Hyuuga." With that, the Godaime left them to their party.

Neji's eyes scanned the packed room, searching for the roseate locks he so loved. He didn't find them.

Over half an hour into the party and everyone was having a ball, save Neji. How could he be happy when a certain someone had not even attended? He sat on the couch, trying to converse with others but finding it slightly difficult to keep his mind focused on the conversation at hand.

No knock sounded from the door, but Hinata rushed to it anyways.

"Hinata-sama, there isn't any –"

Giving up, since she'd already gotten there, Neji turned back to Ino who was blabbing about her relationship with Asuma to Chouji and Kiba while the man of the conversation was sitting on the chair next to her, clearly amused by her avid hand gestures and storytelling.

Hinata cleared her throat behind him. Neji turned towards her, grateful for the interruption in Ino's story, and found that it wasn't his mousy cousin that stood in his vision. It was Sakura.

"Mind if we have a talk?" she asked, her voice like an angel's to him.

He nodded and got up, walking towards her and not bothering to tell Ino the storyteller that he was leaving. He reached her, and she stuck a small, wrapped box in his hands.

"A present," she whispered, "for you."

Neji took it gracefully. He began to unwrap it, being careful of the tape. He took out the wooden box without ripping the wrapping paper. He slowly opened the lid of the box, anxious to see what was inside. He peered inside.

"It's a good-luck charm," Sakura explained.

What the box held was a long silver chain with a flat piece of silver at the end. Carved into the tiny, silver plaque was Konoha's leaf emblem. On the other side, a note was carved. He flipped it over to read what it said. Sakura grabbed his hand, stopping him from flipping it over, and looked into his eyes.

"First of all," Sakura started, "I want to apologize. I shouldn't have ran away that day, a year ago, and then never talk to you again until now. It was wrong of me. I'm extremely sorry. Will you forgive me? I don't think I could stand it any longer if you didn't."

"I forgave you a long time ago," Neji answered.

"Oh, that's a load off my mind," Sakura sighed. "Secondly, I thought a lot about what you said to me on the bench last year. I agree with you now. I think I was in love with a childhood crush. Not the crush, himself, but the fact that I had one. It was just… I held onto it so much… that I believed it to be real. I now realize how wrong I was."

Neji had nothing to say. He didn't have any idea of how to comfort her.

"Neji-san," Sakura whispered.

Neji looked up from the ground, into her eyes. "Ye-Yes?"

Sakura wrapped her arms around Neji's neck and stood on her tiptoes. Their faces were mere centimeters apart. All Neji had to do was close the distance.

"I think… I'm in love with you, Neji," Sakura mumbled, before brushing her lips against his.

Surprised, Neji didn't respond. But it clicked in the prodigy's head a second later, and he pressed his lips against hers. Pulling back, Sakura reached for his hands. They held the box. Opening it, the pink-haired beauty brought out the necklace and tied it at the back of his neck.

"What does the plaque say?" Neji asked.

"Look at it," Sakura said, a smile crossing her gorgeous face.

Neji lifted his hand and brought it between the two of them, lifting the silver plaque up to his face. He turned it so the Konoha leaf emblem was on the opposite side. His silver eyes skimmed the words carved there.

Dropping it, he wrapped his arms around Sakura's lithe body and ducked his head down, grabbing her mouth in another kiss. Sakura smiled into it.

The two pulled away again.

"Is that an 'I like it very much'?" Sakura asked, a giggle bursting through her lips.

Neji nodded. "I think 'love by hap' suits us."

"Do you even know what 'hap' means?" Sakura said, resting her hands around his neck.

"Pfft, who do you think I am? I'm Hyuuga Neji, the phenomenon of the Hyuuga clan. 'Hap: _n. & v. archaic _– _n._ **1** chance, luck.** 2** a chance occurrence. – _v.intr._ (**happed**, **happing**) **1** come about by chance…' etc."

"What, do you read a dictionary for fun?" Sakura teased, giggles erupting within her.

"You're just jealous that you can't do something so great," Neji snorted.

"Aw, you're right. I'm not some clan prodigy, like yourself. I'm just simple Sakura with a great memory and an intelligent mind," she teased.

Ino entered their private moment, Asuma being unwillingly dragged.

"Ino, I know you love me – I love you, too – but does that mean you have to drag me with you wherever you go?" he grumbled.

"No, but right now I want you to be with me. I am the only girl that could love you for your 'necessary' smoking, besides your mother. I'm just so happy that we're finally together. I hope you know it's been, like, four years – on my side – that I've wanted this," Ino chattered. Finally noticing that Sakura and Neji were standing awkwardly in front of the two, Ino said, "Neji-san, you're needed in the living room. So this is where you were, Sakura?" A smirk graced her lovely lips.

Asuma groaned and dragged his younger lover away from the two before she could play 21 Questions.

"We'll be there in a second," Neji answered, his gaze unwavering from Sakura's. He smiled at her before he dipped his head down for another kiss.

Ino glanced back at them, then turned to Asuma and brought his head down roughly to meet hers in a fiery kiss.

"Wha-?"

* * *

Musical Muse: Let Me Love You – Mario 

A/N: 13 pages of the story, 14 with the Author's Note. Well, the ending varied from what I had originally planned, though the

'"We'll be there in a second," Neji answered, his gaze unwavering from Sakura's. He smiled at her before he dipped his head down for another kiss.'

was supposed to be there. Unbeknownst to me, a little Ino and Asuma love appeared near the end. Surprise! They would be a cute couple. At first, this was going to be a songfic with the lyrics of Let Me Love You by Mario and a little more comical than it actually turned out to be. Sakura's reaction to Neji's reasons changed from the original thought.

Just a One Shot to help my writer's block for Dying Love Lives (in the middle of writing chapter two). It'll be posted after I get it beta-ed. I still need a beta! So if anyone would like to…


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